It Had to Be You
by westcoastrach
Summary: Regina and Emma coming to terms with their respective feelings and what follows. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N - Thank you for reading my first attempt at writing fanfiction! I hope to update this story soon. And any and all feedback is welcome. Thanks!**

Chapter 1

Regina paced frantically in her study. Her mind racing with thoughts she did not want to even contemplate. This woman, the mother of her son, had her in a tailspin. It wasn't as if she hadn't had her flings, but this was something new, something different. Regina had not felt this way about anyone, even Robin, since she lost Daniel. This was going to be difficult. Regina was sure that Emma did not feel the same way as she did.

Regina had to think. There were too many questions that needed to be answered. When did these feelings start? How could she not have known? Was Emma into women? How could she find out if Emma would even consider her as a romantic partner?

"I cannot think about this now" Regina stated to the empty study. She spun around and poured herself a highball glass full of bourbon. As she walked over to the sofa, the bourbon started to disappear and Regina had to turn around and refill it before eventually taking a seat on the sofa. Glancing across to the fireplace, she flicked her wrist and lit a fire. With thoughts and new realizations racing through her head, Regina was very thankful that Henry was staying with Emma at the loft.

After finishing her second glass of bourbon, Regina walked over to her desk and grabbed a legal pad and pen. There is no time like the present to start dissecting these questions and thoughts. First thing to tackle: When had these feelings began?

Regina stared at the empty lines. The question tumbled through her mind. Suddenly she found herself thinking of the first time Emma had touched her. It was just a simple gesture. They had been at the diner discussing how allowing Henry to spend time with Emma would work. It was a closed adoption and Emma had relinquished all of her rights to be a parent to Henry but since he had found her and brought her to town, there was no going back and no keeping Henry from seeing her. Regina remembered that she was trying to convey to Emma that Henry was her son and not Emma's and that it was only for Henry's well-being that she was even talking, nonetheless, contemplating allowing Emma to spend time with him. Emma had reached across the table and gently placed her hand on top of Regina's. At that moment, Regina and Emma's eyes locked and there was a surprising ease that overtook Regina. It was warm, pleasant, and welcome.

Regina shook her head. That couldn't be it. That was only a moment in which Emma had tried to make her more at ease with the situation they were facing. There had to be another time, another moment that had started these feelings. Maybe it was their first fight.

After Emma decided to stay in town and took the job offer as Sheriff things shifted between them. Regina was angry that she would be so presumptuous about staying and becoming an everyday factor in Henry's life. At the diner they resolved that Henry could visit Emma in Boston one weekend a month. Regina thought it was a very generous deal. After all, Emma had no rights regarding Henry. Allowing him to stay with her in Boston one weekend a month would allow Regina to get away for the weekend and Henry to see Emma. Everyone could be happy with this arrangement. But no, Miss Swan wanted to renegotiate. She wanted more time, enough that she was leaving her life in Boston. She was leaving her job and home to start over in rural Maine. This decision caused Regina to confront Miss Swan.

Regina knocked on Emma's door at the B&B. As Emma opened the door, Regina pushed her foot in the doorway and quipped, "We had an arrangement Miss Swan. I thought you understood your role in Henry's life." Emma just stood there in her tight jeans and white tank top with a black bra showing. Regina had been caught off guard as she stared at the blonde standing before her. Emma's taught arms on display before her made Regina swallow, hard. Gathering her composure she stood before the blonde letting the words she had stated moments before hang in the air. Emma started to say something and Regina held up her hand signaling Emma should not say anything. "How could you begin to think that staying here is a good idea? At this rate, you will be lucky to see _my_ son in passing. Do you understand what I am saying Miss Swan?" Regina stated and stared at the woman before her.

Emma stepped aside in the doorway and signaled for Regina to enter the room. As Regina fumed, Emma looked calm and collected. Regina sat down on the loveseat and Emma sat down across from her in the armchair. Emma started, "I know that we had an arrangement and I know that you are Henry's mom, not me. The thing is I want to get to know the child that I gave birth to. He is part of me and I cannot leave now that I know who he is. I didn't ever expect to see him again. I don't want to force my way into his life or yours but I cannot walk away now. When he was born I wanted him to have his best chance. From what I see, you have given him that. All I am asking for is the chance to know him as well. It may not be a good idea to stick around but I hope you will understand that I at least need to stay here for him. He sought me out, he ran away to Boston on a bus to find me, he brought me to Storybrooke. I owe it to him to at least try and get to know him."

Regina just sat there, fuming but listening. Miss Swan's face was sincere, childlike even. Miss Swan smiled at her. This made Regina fume even more. "Miss Swan, if you stay I can assure you that I will not allow you to see Henry, let alone spend time with him or get to know him. It is selfish of you to presume that you can force your way into his life and disrupt it. For ten years I have been there for him and I am not going to let _you_ waltz into his life just because you have decided that you_ want_ to get to know him. What happens to him if you decide to leave in a week, a month, or six months? Gone, without a trace. It would not be in his best interest to get to know you. He may have sought you out. He is a curious child. But I will not let you into his life to only disappoint him and leave me to pick up the pieces after you decide you no longer want him in your life, again."

Miss Swan's eyes had watered on Regina's words. Regina began to feel a twinge of guilt but she had said what she felt. Miss Swan was not going to burst into their lives and then turn around and leave when it was no longer convenient for her to stay. Regina was not going to allow her to hurt Henry in any way. He may be angry at her for not allowing him to get to know his birth mother but it was for his own good. She did not want to have to pick up the pieces of his heart when this woman who sat before her rejected him.

Emma stood up and walked to the window. "I would never do that to Henry. You have to believe me. All I want is the chance to get to know him. I understand what it feels like to not know who your birth parents are. I was dropped off as a newborn outside a hospital in Boston. I am a child of the system. I promise you that if you will allow me to get to know Henry; I will not disappear from his life."

Regina was surprised at this confession but her mind was made up. This stranger would not worm her way into Henry's life. "Miss Swan, please understand that you are not welcome in Henry's life, neither now nor in the future. My mind is made up. I suggest you return to Boston and forget about _my_ son." With that, Regina stood up and walked out of the room. She felt somewhat remorseful about what Miss Swan had revealed to her and was surprisingly curious to know more about the blonde's life. But Regina was nothing if not decisive. She had spoken her mind and was looking forward to not having Miss Swan in her life.

After making note of the memories, Regina thought, maybe it wasn't just one instance that had started these feelings. Maybe it was the culmination of each encounter, each glance, and each touch. She looked up at the mantle clock. It was late and she was tired. Morning would come early and she had meetings all day tomorrow. Regina decided to go to bed and not think about these things until tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

That same night….

"Regina please don't go, we can work this out," Emma cried out. With a start, Emma sat up in bed. She glanced over at Henry, thankfully asleep in his bed on the other side of the room. Slowly she lay back down. What the hell was happening? That dream seemed so real.

Emma had to dissect the dream. In the dream she confessed her love for Regina and Regina had not taken it well. That is all Emma could remember. After Emma had reached out and taken Regina's hand while they were talking at the beach, Emma had looked her in the eyes and finally confessed what she had been feeling for a couple of years. At that confession, Regina had pulled her hand away, turned and walked to the water's edge, and then disappeared in a cloud of red smoke while Emma cried out to her.

Would Regina really take her confession so poorly? She was completely confused but it was just a dream. What transpired earlier had given her real hope that maybe Regina felt the same or at least was interested in Emma as more than just a co-parent and maybe friend. But maybe she was imagining everything that she thought had hinted at Regina loving her as well. They were always glancing at each other and would touch each other on the hand or arm in a way that felt different than anything Emma had ever experienced. It felt warm and comforting but also was intense. Neal's touch never had that effect on her. Hook's touch was far from that effect and he always made her feel like a piece of meat or object to be conquered. None of her other relationships or sexual encounters ever felt this way. And all that had happened between herself and Regina were small touches and glances but there was something between them that she could not deny.

Ruby had told Emma of Regina's "affairs" with her ladies-in-waiting and other princesses back in the Enchanted Forest. Emma also had her share of girlfriends and labeled herself as bi-sexual but her sexuality and sexual past had never come up since she came to Storybrooke. Surely people knew, but in reality, only Ruby had ever talked to her about relationships in a way that was not completely heterosexual. Not even her parents had asked her about her dating past, except for Neal.

Emma had to rethink what she had done earlier. Asking Regina to have lunch with her at the park, alone, seemed like an innocent thing to do at the time. She even offered to get Granny's to go and drive them. Regina agreed but stipulated that she would not ride in the "yellow death trap" so Emma agreed to pick her up in the patrol car. She pulled the car up in front of the town hall where Regina was waiting outside for her. When Emma stopped the car, Regina took a step toward the passenger door but Emma jumped out and ran around the front of the car and opened the door for Regina and ushered her into the car. Regina had looked shocked, but then when Emma slipped back into the driver's seat Regina just looked at her and softly smiled. And Emma also noticed that Regina's cheeks had flushed.

They didn't speak during the short drive to the park. It was a comfortable silence. Emma parked the car and again jumped out and opened Regina's door for her, taking her hand as she exited the car. Why had she done that again? This wasn't a date, this was just lunch and Emma had asked Regina so that she could discuss Henry asking her for a puppy. As Regina stood there, Emma gathered a blanket from the backseat and the bagged lunch from Granny's, a grilled chicken Caesar salad for Regina and a cheeseburger and extra fries, because Regina likes to steal fries instead of ordering them for herself, for Emma. They had walked over to the pond and spread out the blanket. As she removed the lunches from the bag, Regina asked her what had prompted this impromptu lunch.

"Well, I asked you to lunch because Henry has been asking me for a puppy for his birthday and I would like to get him one but I cannot make that decision alone, since it will likely be us who take care of it" Emma confessed. "Oh, he has been asking me for a dog since he was five. I never would say yes because I knew he wasn't old enough to take care of a dog, but he is 13 now and maybe we should consider his request this year" Regina replied. Emma was stunned and just looked at Regina. She never expected that reaction. After a few moments, they continued to discuss the role a dog would play in Henry's life and theirs. As they ate, Regina and Emma came up with ground rules for Henry and set up consequences if he did not follow through with caring for the dog. After they finished eating and had reached the conclusion that if Henry agreed to the rules and consequences they would get him a dog for his birthday, the ladies gathered their belongings and headed back to the car.

When they reached the car, Emma again opened the door for Regina and took her hand to help her into the car. Again, Regina smiled softly and had flushed cheeks when Emma got in the car. On the way back to the town hall, Regina told Emma that the dog they get for Henry should be adopted, not bought. This surprised Emma because she thought Regina would insist on a pedigree dog and Emma was planning on insisting that they all visit the shelter and let Henry pick out a dog there. Emma must have started grinning because Regina asked what had made her so happy. Emma told her that she thought it was a wonderful idea to get a shelter dog, puppy or adult, instead of an expensive pedigree dog.

As Emma pulled up in front of the town hall and stopped the car, Regina sat in her seat and didn't move. Emma jumped out of the car and opened up Regina's door and took her hand, again, to help her out of the car. When Emma closed the door, Regina reached out and touched Emma's upper arm and thanked her for a lovely lunch and discussion about Henry. At that, she turned and walked into the building. Emma returned to work and spent the evening with Henry and her parents. The whole rest of the day she tried to not think of the fact that she had opened the car door for Regina and held her hand four times and that Regina had touched her and seemed genuinely thankful and sincere at their parting. She had told herself she wouldn't think about everything and that she wouldn't read into the interaction until she had time alone to contemplate everything, but being awake in the middle of the night with everyone else asleep is essentially alone.

Regina had touched her upper arm and thanked her. That had never happened before. Emma had touched Regina on her upper arm before but Regina had never touched Emma anywhere except her forearm or hand. This felt more intimate than the other touches. Emma laid there questioning the intention, if any, of that gesture. Did it mean anything or was it just something that had felt innocent and natural to Regina? There were so many questions that she had. But she could not get the look on Regina's face as her hand was on her arm out of her mind. It was sincere, almost loving. That look was nothing like anything Emma had ever seen on her face before except for when Regina would look at Henry when she would tell him that she loved him.

Emma turned and looked at the clock. It was almost 6 am and her alarm would be going off in a few minutes. She decided that she needed to ask Ruby more questions about Regina. She knew that Regina had been with women before, but had she ever had a relationship with one. Could Regina have feelings for her? Would Regina be open to her?


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N - So sorry it took so long to update this. I lost the outline of this story and my other story that is in progress while I was traveling over the holidays. **

Chapter 3

Regina despised budget meetings. Since the curse broke, everyone had prioritized their own interests. The constant bickering of what projects the budget would allow drove her crazy, plus it was even harder now to afford anything because the townspeople were reluctant to pay taxes or even work in some cases. Grumpy wanted the Rabbit Hole to serve free drinks to the dwarves each night after they finished working in the mines, Snow wanted updated books and materials for the school, Whale wanted to hire doctors from the outside, and on and on. It never ended. After an hour of people making suggestions of projects and expenditures, Regina looked at her notes and noticed that there was only one person in the meeting who had not made a single request, Emma.

"Ms. Swan, as everyone else has made their requests, is there anything you would like to add to the discussion or should we adjourn for the day," Regina remarked. Emma had been lost in her own head, still thinking of the dream and the picnic. Caught off guard, Emma replied, "Um, well Regina, the only item I have on my list that the Sheriff Department requires is a deputy sheriff." Immediately Regina looked at Emma and simply said, "No." Moving on, Regina said that she would review the suggestions and prioritize them before the final budget meeting that was already scheduled for the end of the week. The meeting was adjourned and everyone gathered their belongings and filed out of the room, except Emma. Emma just sat there.

"May I help you, Ms. Swan?" asked Regina as Emma just stared at her. Emma could not believe that Regina had just said no to her request and had not even given it any thought or contemplation. Just no and move along. "Why did you say no to my request for a deputy? I cannot work every hour of every day nor be everywhere a sheriff is needed. A deputy would help me so much, I know hiring someone is expensive and that money is tight but the safety of Storybrooke should be a priority, plus the dwarves and their drinking can almost be a full time job in itself," Emma remarked as Regina walked to her side of the table and sat down.

"You don't understand, Emma. I want to hire a deputy but there is not enough money in the budget for it. There is barely enough money to pay for anything that was requested today. I propose that the sheriff department be on call rather than on duty. Unless you have something to deal with, your time is yours. Your pay and benefits will stay the same but now you won't be tied to the station. What do you think?"

Emma was stunned. She had never thought that it might even be an option to not sit in the sheriff station 8 hours a day; 7 days a week plus being on call the rest of the time. Generally, nothing happened except dealing with the dwarves when they were drunk and causing trouble or the occasional fight or other minor offenses. "Wow. That would be great. You would do that for me," Emma replied.

A small smile showed on Regina's face. "Yes, I would. It doesn't seem fair to tie you to your desk and have you on call all the time. Plus, it interferes with our arrangement regarding our son and his time with you. And this may give us all a chance to have a weekly dinner together," Regina explained.

Emma was sure that her mouth was hanging open. "You want to have dinner, each week with me and Henry?" Emma asked.

Regina cringed. She couldn't believe that she had suggested a weekly dinner but she had and she meant it. "Yes, I would like it if the three of us could have dinner each Friday night. It would allow both of us to talk to Henry and spend quality time with him," Regina replied.

"Ok, that sounds cool. We could have dinner at Granny's or we could switch back and forth between my place and yours," Emma suggested. She secretly was hoping Regina would suggest her place or Granny's because she couldn't cook. What would she feed the three of them, cereal and microwave meals?

Regina knew that she did not trust Emma to make a meal for her. She quickly replied, "I think that we should start by having our Friday night dinners at my home. I will cook." Emma smiled and said, "Sounds like a plan. So we are on, Friday night, say 6 o'clock at your place. I can bring a bottle of wine."

"Thank you dear, but I believe 7 would be better for me," Regina replied. "Now, if that is taken care of, I do need to get back to work. Would you set the phone up at the sheriff station to ring through to your cell phone so that you can start being on call and not in the office at all times."

"Will do, Madam Mayor. Since you seem swamped do you want me to pick up Henry from school?" Emma asked. Regina thought for a moment, "That would be wonderful if you would. Could you take him home to my house and make sure he starts on his homework?" Emma smiled and answered, "Sure, no problem. See you later." And with that she headed back to the station to forward the calls.

Regina just sat there. Her head was spinning and pounding. What had she just done? First, she lets Emma work from home or wherever Emma hangs out when she isn't at work or home and then she suggests that they spend every Friday night together. This would never do. What was she thinking? Emma was making her do things she would have never done in a million years before this blonde walked into her life and threw her into a tailspin. A drink, Regina needed a drink. Thank the gods that she kept some whiskey in her office.

Regina poured herself a drink and sat on the couch. As she finished her drink, she remembered that she had to prioritize the budget requests and make a preliminary budget before she left for the day. As she got back to work, she smiled to herself with the thought that Emma would be at her house when she got home. After a few hours, Regina looked at the clock. It was almost 6 and she had finally finished her work for the day.

Opening the front door, Regina stepped in the house and found it strangely quiet. She walked into the living room only to find Henry actually doing his homework and Emma reading a book. When Emma saw Regina, she quickly closed the book and stood up. "Well kid, looks like it is time for me to go," Emma remarked as she picked up her backpack and placed the book inside. "Hey mom, what's for dinner," Henry asked.

Regina took a few steps into the room and sat down. "You don't have to leave so soon," Regina said. "Oh no, I better get back to the loft. My parents are expecting me for dinner and Snow is trying a new recipe tonight so I can't skip out on them," Emma replied. Regina just nodded and then said, "We wouldn't want you to disappoint them. Thank you for picking Henry up today. It was a great help and I finished the preliminary budget."

"It was no problem. Glad I could help, anytime," Emma answered. Emma looked around and made sure she had all of her things and started for the front door. As she walked toward the door she called out, "See ya later Henry." With that, Emma was gone and Regina and Henry were alone.

"Henry, how about if you order pizza for dinner?" Regina suggested. "Really mom! Are you sure?" Henry replied. "Yes Henry, I am too tired to cook tonight," Regina answered as she sat there with her eyes closed. With that Henry ran off to order the pizza.


End file.
